Dometic 1.9cu ft refrigerators

[MoJoCamping]

'we have a Fleetwood e-2 and the fridge just wont get cold.  does anyone else have these problems.  the dealer is giving us the run around saying dometic has to trouble shoot it by phone, it used to work fine.
just courious if anyone has the same situation?

[fallsrider]

'we have a Fleetwood e-2 and the fridge just wont get cold.  does anyone else have these problems.  the dealer is giving us the run around saying dometic has to trouble shoot it by phone, it used to work fine.
just courious if anyone has the same situation?

Does it not get cold at all, or does it not get as cold as you would like? 3-way fridges typically will only cool to about 40 degrees below ambient temperature, which means if it is 90 outside, you won't get much below 50 in the fridge, unless you do one of the duct/fan mods several people have done to make them more efficient.

On the flip side, if it is 60 outside, everything in your fridge will freeze if you're using propane!

['tiredTeacher]

'we have a Fleetwood e-2 and the fridge just wont get cold.  does anyone else have these problems.  the dealer is giving us the run around saying dometic has to trouble shoot it by phone, it used to work fine.
just courious if anyone has the same situation?

Ditto to what fallsrider wrote.
Let me add that Dometic has in their manual the procedure for cleaning the burner and orifice. This procedure is condsidered yearly maintenance and will cost $90 or more if a dealer does it. You can do it yourself in about a half hour. After I did it, my fridge returned to "normal" as previously described. (That's why I added a baffle and fan to mine.)

[MoJoCamping]

Ditto to what fallsrider wrote.
Let me add that Dometic has in their manual the procedure for cleaning the burner and orifice. This procedure is condsidered yearly maintenance and will cost $90 or more if a dealer does it. You can do it yourself in about a half hour. After I did it, my fridge returned to "normal" as previously described. (That's why I added a baffle and fan to mine.)

I saw somewhere on one of these sites someone added a baffle, where do you put the baffle and fan?

[AustinBoston]

fallsrider, please do not take this personally, but I'm fed up with hearing what you posted.

Does it not get cold at all, or does it not get as cold as you would like? 3-way fridges typically will only cool to about 40 degrees below ambient temperature,

I keep hearing this, and it is total NONSENSE.  If we were talking about electronic coolers, I would agree (they are limited to about 45

[fallsrider]

...I keep hearing this, and it is total NONSENSE....

Maybe you're right, to an extent, but yours is the first I have heard of that kind of cooling effectiveness. Why is the baffle/fan mod so popular with some on this board and others? They're not trying to make ice cream. They're simply trying to get their fridge down into the 30's when it's hot out. A 40 to 45 degree drop from ambient is far more the norm than freezing things when it is 100+.

Remember, we're talking about the small fridges that come in standard size PUPs here, not the highwalls that have freezers. Those fridges work on the same principle, sure, but they are designed with the capacity to freeze things in the freezer. Our little fridges are not. These fridges have to be manufactured to work appropriately in average temperatures because there is no thermostatic control when using propane. Design too much capacity, you freeze things all the time. Design too little, and it will be 60 in the fridge when it is 85 outside.

I dare say 1 of our little fridges in 50 will freeze things in 90+ degree ambient air when new.

[AustinBoston]

Maybe you're right, to an extent, but yours is the first I have heard of that kind of cooling effectiveness. Why is the baffle/fan mod so popular with some on this board and others?

Because they don't work well in the sun, where on an 85

[wavery]

In all fairness to fallsrider, what he is saying is what a lot of people are experiencing, according to the posts that I've read too.

The problem is, most of these fridges are not getting proper air flow. That's why all of the posts about baffling and fans.

We have a simple baffle in ours and it works great. However, we haven't camped in any 90+ temps. I do have 2 - 12v computer fans that I can turn on, in the unlikely event that we do camp in that weather (although, it's not likely :p )

['tiredTeacher]

Remember, we're talking about the small fridges that come in standard size PUPs here, not the highwalls that have freezers.

Right, and I have had fridge problems in hot weather. I installed a baffle in the upper compartment and put a computer "muffin fan" in the upper to blow air up onto the coil. This draws air in from the lower chamber and pushes it across the coils and out the upper vents. It prevents hot air from accumulating in the upper inch of the compartment. I also noticed the stack vent was aimed right at the coil. I rotated it so it points out.

E-mail me : awellis3@yahoo.com if you want pics.

Wright

[AustinBoston]

In all fairness to fallsrider, what he is saying is what a lot of people are experiencing, according to the posts that I've read too.

The problem is, most of these fridges are not getting proper air flow. That's why all of the posts about baffling and fans.

We have a simple baffle in ours and it works great. However, we haven't camped in any 90+ temps. I do have 2 - 12v computer fans that I can turn on, in the unlikely event that we do camp in that weather (although, it's not likely :p )

Yes, I can agree with this...and I want to point out again that my comments were not meant to be specific to fallsrider.  But this is an installation issue, not an issue with the fridge itself.  I could and should have pointed out the whole baffle thing myself, (and the fact that many people also use a fan inside the fridge to even out the cold).

Austin

[fallsrider]

Yes, I can agree with this...and I want to point out again that my comments were not meant to be specific to fallsrider.  But this is an installation issue, not an issue with the fridge itself.  I could and should have pointed out the whole baffle thing myself, (and the fact that many people also use a fan inside the fridge to even out the cold).

Austin

I guess your argument, AustinBostin, is that the fridges are capable of much colder temperature drops, and I'm sure you're right on the money. My argument is simply that, as these fridges come installed from the factory, they don't usually give that kind of performance. Is it an installation issue? It probably is. It would be great if all the manufacturers would design their own baffle/fan installation and either offer that as an option, or make it standard equipment. They could make the fan either manually or thermostatically controlled, assuming either a battery or shore power.

Since we cook outside, we find using a large cooler outside to be easier than going in and out of the camper, so I probably won't do the mod myself. So far, all I've kept in the fridge is drinking water. I will just live with the temperature differential I get.

[MoJoCamping]

you have all been alot of help.  I agree that no matter how hot it is out
the darn little thing should be cold.  I always have it level, and it worked
fine when we first got the pop-up.  It did used to freeze things when on propane!  anyhow, the dealer has to do the repairs because it is still
under warranty but it is such a hassle because our pop-up dealer is not trained in repairs of refrigerators that well!  Thanks for all your help,